Devices, Systems, and Methods For Accessing a Line of Credit Associated With a Player Wagering Account

1 . A method of dynamically adjusting a player's line of credit associated with a wagering activity, comprising:

establishing a line of credit for a player;

monitoring at least one factor associated with said player's wagering activity;

calculating a credit factor related to the monitored at least one factor; and

automatically applying said credit factor to said line of credit to adjust said line of credit upwardly or downwardly responsive to the monitored at least one factor.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said monitoring comprises trending of said at least one factor.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said at least one factor comprises a trending of a wagering pattern.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said at least one factor comprises a trending of at least one of a player's winnings, losses, rate of play, or duration of play.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one factor comprises at least one of a pattern of line of credit payments, a timing of line of credit payments, or an amount of line of credit payments.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one factor comprises an amount of funds in a wagering account of said player.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said credit factor is increased in relation to an amount of funds in said wagering account.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, from a handheld gaming device or portable electronic device via a wireless communication link to a remote computer system, a signal representing a request to access a line of credit.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said credit factor comprises a value between one and ten.

10 . A system for accessing a line of credit associated with a player's wagering account, said system comprising:

a gaming machine having a display that displays a wagering game, a communication interface for communicating over a communication link, and a controller programmed to, responsive to a player input, output a signal related to the player input through said communication interface and over said communication link; and

at least one storage device bearing at least player line of credit data, said at least one storage device being associated with a controller, wherein the controller associated with the at least one storage device is programmed to receive via the communication link a signal representing a request of an advance of at least a portion of a player's line of credit, and, responsive thereto, to cause a number of credits commensurate with the requested advance to be associated with a player's wagering account and to output a signal related to the requested advance to said gaming machine over said communication link.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein said gaming machine comprises a handheld gaming machine.

12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein said gaming machine comprises a biometric characteristic input device.

13 . The system of claim 11 further comprising a memory bearing a plurality of player biometric characteristic profiles or templates.

14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein said player line of credit data is divided into a plurality of sub-portions, each of said plurality of sub-portions being independently accessible to the player.

15 . The system of claim 10 , wherein said controller associated with said at least one storage device is further programmed to monitor a player's wagering account when an obligation on a line of credit is outstanding and to automatically apply any funds in excess of said outstanding obligation from said wagering account to said line of credit.

16 . A method of accessing a line of credit associated with a wagering activity, comprising:

establishing a line of credit for a player;

communicating a request, responsive to a player input in a gaming machine, through a communication interface and over a communication link to an external system associated with said line of credit, said request relating to a request for an advance against said player's line of credit;

associating a number of credits commensurate with the requested advance with a player's wagering account; and

outputting a signal related to the requested advance to said gaming machine over said communication link.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: dividing said line of credit into a plurality of substantially equal sub-portions, each sub-portion being independently accessible to the player.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein said act of outputting a signal comprises outputting to said gaming machine a representation of said wagering account information following said act of associating.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said external system is configured to output a notification signal to said gaming machine over said communication link when a player's outstanding credit obligation reaches a predetermined percentage relative to the credit limit of said line of credit.

20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising: transferring funds from the wagering account to said line of credit to fulfill at least a part of an outstanding obligation regarding said line of credit.

21 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said gaming machine is a handheld gaming machine.

22 . A method of dynamically adjusting a player's line of credit associated with a wagering activity, comprising:

establishing a line of credit for a player;

monitoring at least one factor associated with a player's subsequent wagering activity;

adjusting a player's line of credit upwardly or downwardly responsive to the monitored at least one factor.